Regressor In A Strange World
Chapter 22: Love Empyrean.

Chapter 22: Love Empyrean.

Within Klaus’s soul space, a world bathed in an endless sea of light.

A figure wretched in an endless darkness materialized within the sea of soul. Their eyes flickered with an unsettling crimson glow.

"Hehehehe..."

A hollow, eerie laugh escaped their lips, and intense anticipation gleaming in their eyes.

’Now... let’s see what secrets the human hides?’

But just as the Darkenstein tree began its invasion on Klaus’s soul space.

Ahead of it, or rather, before it, stood a grand towering gate, and beyond the walls of the closed gate- etched with intricate, ancient, mind-assaulting runes of unknown language- laid a colossal tower that seemed to tower above heaven and earth.

At first glance- it seemed normal, perhaps a little bit ancient and... weird.

But that was it.

The figure’s gaze remained fixed on the towering gate.

Whatever force protected the human’s soul from intrusion had to lie beyond it.

As for what lay beyond the gate? He could care less about that. It certainly wouldn’t be of any threat to him.

Worst comes to worst... he would still be able to retreat.

That... he was very much sure of.

But, that thought of his vanished as soon he took a step forward.

".....!"

A terrifying pressure slammed onto him, locking him in place.

"W-hat-!"

His eyes widened in disbelief, and before him materialized something that filled him with an intense terror and horror unlike anything he had ever felt before.

A blinding ray of light erupted from the ancient tower and in that instant, a primal scream tore through his mind.

’No....!’

He screamed, his voice raw and desperate.

His resistance crumbled under the radiant onslaught. Every ounce of power he wielded seemed utterly useless in front of the incandescent ray of light.

Desperation surged within him as he tried to retreat, but...

The bright incandescent ray swallowed him whole, his final thoughts trapped in a vacuum of disbelief, even as his form dissolved into nothingness.

It was too late- it seems.

The Dark Souls Tree- the soul of a god- was eradicated in an instant.

In that moment- within the endless sea of light, nothing but an oppressive, stifling silence reigned supreme.

All that remained in Klaus’s soul space- the only remnants of the invasion- were the fading specks of lights that slowly plunged into the endless sea beneath the depths of his soul space.

***

"....?!"

I blinked.

Once again, I was alone in an endless darkness. The silence was stifling and suffocating to say the least.

And then, I heard it.

The spell. It whispered to me:

[You have slain the Sequence 0 Darkenstein Souls Tree.]

[Wake up, Klaus! Your Arcane Trial is over.]

[Prepare for appraisal....]

"...."

I blinked again, trying to make sense of it all.

Kill a god? H-How?

Confusion spread across my face.

The last thing I remembered was being consumed by the Dark Souls Tree, but now the spell was telling me I had killed it.

Is this some kind of joke?

No... Wait- Is the spell messing with me or what-?

That seemed like the only explanation. But then again, the spell had never been known to play tricks.

So, as hard as it was to believe, there was no denying it.

I had somehow done the impossible. I had slain a god.

’But-’

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted as I felt a strong force pull onto me, dragging me into an endless void.

***

[Prepare for appraisal...]

I found myself suspended in a space between dreams and reality.

So, this is it...

I mused under my breath.

According to the old men back at the Winchester household, where I currently stood- existed on the edges of the dream world and reality.

How such a place could even exist in the first place, though, remained beyond my understanding.

Taking in the scene around me, I couldn’t help but be taken aback.

I was surrounded by an endless black void illuminated by a myriad of stars and shimmering auroras. Between those stars and auroras, countless strings of light were woven into a beautiful, yet harrowing complex net, forming various nexus points and constellations.

"...."

It was truly breathtaking to say the least.

So... this is the rumored inner workings of the spell. No wonder it’s said to resemble a neural network. But-

A frown tugged at the corner of my lips.

If that’s true... Could the spell be sentient ? Could it be alive?

This was a question even the old-timers at the Winchester household had no definite answer to. The best they could come up with was that there was no way to really know.

All they could conclude was that the spell was neither alive nor dead; sentient nor mindless.

It was just there. If one were to really say...

It was more of a function than a living entity.

And that led to even more unsettling questions. If it wasn’t a creature but a mere function... then who created it? And why?

But I was in no mood to ponder on such philosophical musings, nor did I have the energy to do so.

Just these few were enough to give me a headache.

"Roselle, Napoleon," I muttered under my breath, both names striking memories hidden beneath layers of suppression.

But-

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

Now that the Dark Souls Tree was dead- due to some divine miracle that definitely wasn’t from the Winchesters. The estrangement between us made that impossible, and they couldn’t have done it even if they wanted to.

Somehow, I was fairly certain that it had something to do with me. I just didn’t know how or why. Though, I had a feeling that whatever it was, I’d find out, soon enough.

That... I was very much sure of.

And just as I pondered harder.

"Hah..."

It clicked.

Of course, I knew of Roselle.

"Ah..."

Who wouldn’t?

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

Who wouldn’t know the current God of Light?

And as for Napoleon...

My smile deepened.

I knew him even better.

Napoleon- highly venerated and respected by all, both old and young. He was seen as the God of light’s greatest adversary.

And yes, "Was."

The God of Light wouldn’t let him off so easily- not after what he’d done.

Through some miraculous means, Roselle somehow managed to destroy the Dark Souls Tree and successfully stopped its ascension- or, in this case- its descent.

But that was years ago...

Their rivalry had stretched on for years and Napoleon, on his quest to revive her- his one and only true love- Astrid, went far beyond anyone’s expectation.

With the death of the Dark Souls Tree, he was left with no way.

As a transcender of the cursed pathway- he initially believed he had no hope of reviving her and had fallen into despair. But years later...

He found a clue. In the mountain of Noctis- the domain of the God of Darkness.

As for why Noctis would possess such a secret, he couldn’t say.

But he pursued it relentlessly. And, eventually, he uncovered the truth. The truth that changed everything.

"Hah..."

The cursed pathway- and the death pathway are linked pathways of the same sequence group.

No longer burdened by the need to conquer empires due to the Dark Souls Tree demise. And with his harrowing escape from Roselle. He swiftly grew stronger- faster than anyone could have imagined.

He did everything and anything in his power to become stronger.

He was of the belief that the end justifies the means.

As a result, he was pursued across numerous lands by Roselle.

Their fights and battles went on for years. And finally, years later, after so much time, Napoleon did succeed.

He succeeded in resurrecting her.

But-

"Haa..."

It came at a cost.

His death.

Even Roselle, despite everything, felt a pang of sorrow at Napoleon’s death. And so, the God of Light kept to the only promise Napoleon had asked of him, even in his final moments.

"Please... protect her, Roselle..."

Those were the last words from Napoleon.

He lived for love and-

Died for it...

And as a result, he was remembered not only as the conqueror, but also as the... Love Empyrean.

"Hah!"

Such a poignant story. No wonder it circulated far and wide. Almost everyone knew of the Love Emperor.

...And to this day, the Napoleon royal family remains one of the world’s most powerful. Protected by the Lord of Light himself.

But most importantly-

"Haa..."

My smile widened.

Years later, Astrid ascended to godhood.

Not just any goddess.

She became the Goddess of... Aurora.

***

"Haa..."

A light exhalation escaped my lips. The realization setting me at ease- if only a little.

But, I was still confused about a few things, though. The Arcane Trial to some extent had to do with one’s spiritual existence. But-

A frown tugged at the corner of my lips.

How does this have anything to do with me...?

"Akh-! Questions. Questions."

Groaning, I rubbed my temples in an attempt to alleviate the intense headache.

But just then-

Ba- dump! Ba- dump!

I heard it.

The spell.

It was done appraising my performance.